The attention now turns to Arrow McLaren and its two prominent open spots, as the biggest free agent in the NTT IndyCar Series, Josef Newgarden, was taken off the market last week when he signed a new multi-year agreement to stay with Team Penske.
With Pato O’Ward in the No. 5, youngster Theo Pourchaire in the No. 6, and Alexander Rossi in the No. 7, it has a strong roster of Chevy entrants right now. Of the three, only O’Ward has a contract that runs until 2024.
The team led by Gavin Ward has O’Ward sitting fourth in the championship with one win and another podium, Rossi directly behind him in fifth place thanks to six top-10 finishes, and Pourchaire, a part-time substitute who will compete in the remaining races, proving he can do big things. The IndyCar season is almost halfway through.
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown believes that the current lineup may become the team’s future lineup given the performance and increased potential of its Mexican-American-French roster. However, talks with Rossi must first come to an end.
“I always believe that it’s important to finish any big decisions as soon as possible,” Brown told RACER. “That may be the case with Kyle Larson, who signed and announced his intentions to compete in the Indianapolis 500 ahead of schedule, or with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, two drivers for McLaren Formula 1.”
“We’ve got a long-term contract with Pato. We’re thrilled that Alexander Rossi is here. After being thrown into the deep end, we believe Theo is doing a fantastic job. We feel quite satisfied with the two guys who are occupying the two seats we need to finish.
RACER is aware that Pourchaire and Rossi agree with Brown’s desire to continue with the club until 2025 and beyond. However, there is free agency talent in the paddock if things were to alter for one or both of the drivers. Callum Ilott, a recent stand-in for Arrow McLaren, Christian Lundgaard of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, and Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter Racing are among the candidates to consider for the Nos. 6 and 7 Chevys.
“At the same time, we’re keeping an eye on a few free agents,” Brown continued. In order to secure both seats, I believe we will try to complete anything over the next 30 to 60 days. We’ll have an incredible lineup for the following year, I’m sure
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It would be shocking if the O’Ward-Rossi-Pourchaire package didn’t come back the following season. Brown’s main goal in all of this is to create the year-to-year stability that has been missing following the contractual shenanigans of Alex Palou, who McLaren is suing for allegedly breaking his contract, and the pre-season injury drama involving David Malukas, who was cut by the team in late April after failing to qualify for the four season-opening races.
“This year has been a bit of a musical chairs for us, with Palou’s situation and then David’s injury,” Brown added. We’re all eager to move on from that, choose our three drivers as soon as possible, make the announcement, and concentrate on the race.
